Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting (Paperback)

~ George Colombo (Author), Curtis Franklin (Author) "Once in a while, something comes along that changes the way we think about communicating between people and groups..." (more)
Key Phrases: podcasting community, most podcasters, particular podcast, Creative Commons, Podcast Alley, George Colombo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Has anyone ever told you that you should be on radio? While radio can be hard to break into, podcasting lets you put your voice and talents to work to create your own broadcast to be distributed over the Internet to millions of people. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting is the aspiring podcaster's handbook. Authors George Colombo and Curtis Franklin will guide you through creating, editing, and syndicating your podcast, from the kinds of equipment you need to how to design a podcast that will reach the widest audience possible to legal issues faced by podcasters. You'll also learn how to:

• Design a podcast that grabs - and keeps - an audience!
• Choose the right tools - recording software, microphones, and other equipment
• Create an engaging show persona - podcasting is more than just talking!
• Craft your 'cast into a show worth listening to with post-production secrets of the pros
• Set up a web page and RSS feed that will allow listeners to subscribe to your podcast
• Efffectively promote your podcast

The tips inside Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting will guide you towards creating a fun and successful podcast.

About the Author

George Colombo has a reputation for making technology topics accessible to general audiences. His book Sales Force Automation was published in 1993, and many industry observers consider it the starting point for today's multi-billion dollar Customer Relationship Management industry. George has written for a number of business and computer industry publications, including Computer Reseller News, VARBusiness, and Selling. George spent two years as the host of TEN-TV's Spotlight Microsoft, a weekly television show for Microsoft developers. George was also the Executive Producer for Conversations With Industry Innovators, an audio interview series.

Curtis Franklin, Jr. has been introducing new products and technologies to readers for nearly twenty years. He was the founder of the BYTE Testing Lab for BYTE magazine, and since then has written about leading-edge technologies and their impact on individuals and organizations for publications like Circuit Cellar INK, VARBusiness, Solutions Integrator, ITWorld.com, HowStuffWorks.com, InternetWeek, InfoWorld, Network World, Secure Enterprise, and Network Computing. As Director of Labs for Client/Server Labs, he directed testing and analysis of performance, capacity, and capabilities testing for a client list that included IBM, Dell, Microsoft, Intel, Shell Oil, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida. Today, Curtis directs security coverage as senior technology editor at Network Computing, edits the Security Channel of TechWeb.com, and contributes to industry-leading security coverage as senior technology editor at Secure Enterprise.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Que; illustrated edition edition (October 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789734559
• ISBN-13: 978-0789734556
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #413,595 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting, November 2, 2005

By	Barry Trailer (Mill Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an eminently readable, straightforward and, dare I say it? entertaining book. Colombo and Franklin cover the territory of what podcasting is, how you (should) get started, pitfalls to avoid, directories that are a must if you ever want anyone to actually listen to what you put out there, and much much more. There are practical suggestions such as "become a voracious consumer of podcasts" at least for a little while before you launch your own podcast into the ether. There are clear instructions, loads of screen shots and--to my great pleasure--a total absence of the analogy laden attempts at "cleverness" that so often accompany technical how-to texts for beginners. I bought it, I'm giving another copy to my tech-savvy son-in-law and I recommend it to you.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes true on Claim, December 2, 2005

By	Nick Enslow (AAUG Member) - See all my reviews

The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting is a foolproof guide to making and producing your own podcast. From beginning to end the book spells out everything. From technical jargon to the pace of your podcast this book is there to help. It is easy to follow and has great page layouts that your eyes can easily focus on. In each chapter they also include small insets that give you a tidbit of history about podcasting. While podcasting's history isn't long they give great insight into subjects like the "Podfather", Adam Curry, who is seen as, the name implies, the forerunner for podcasting. This book is a beginning podcasters bible. That is the very best thing about it and possibly its only downside. It sets out to teach a novice the ways of the podcasting world and achieves that goal. If you have already tried your hand at casting and have a good idea of how it works this book wouldn't be the best choice for more advanced casting techniques. All in all the Absolute Beginners Guide to Podcasting achieves exactly what it is setting out to accomplish, giving beginners a guide to the growing world of podcasting.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not just for beginners, November 11, 2005

By	cathy mcconnell "wordsmithophile" (west virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even if you know nothing about podcasting, you can produce your own cast within hours of getting your hands on this book. But what surprised me is that even if you're a seasoned podcaster you'll likely learn some good stuff from this book. It's definitely staying on my resource shelf, especially for the great detailed sections on sound production (both the physical gear like mics and the digital processing stuff).

What sets this book apart, though, is the in-depth discussion these authors deliver about show content. I've listened to the first 5 minutes of so many podcasts where the personality behind the mic was clearly interesting, but I didn't have the patience to sit through the loose drivel between entertaining or useful nuggets. This book does a great job guiding the podcaster to devote a little more directed energy to preparing a tight high-quality show. As an avid listener I can tell you this is almost required to get me on to minute 6, and a must to get me to subscribe to your cast.

The book has a nice conversational tone, making it a quick read. It's also laid out so that you can easily jump between sections if you're looking for something in particular, or want to save the detailed tech stuff for later.

My only negative comment about the book is that a few of the screenshots didn't print with enough contrast to make them easily readable. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. Great book, and a real bargain at less than $20.